The present invention relates in general to a method and apparatus for sending and receiving information between a vehicle data processing system and a remote network via a wireless communication system.
An average person is spending more time in a motor vehicle. The ability to access remote data networks, such as the Internet, from the vehicle has become an increasing demand as more and more people utilize the Internet in their daily lives. Accessing the Internet from the vehicle has typically been done by using an in vehicle computer to contact an Internet Service Provider (ISP) by way of a cellular phone service. This can be quite expensive if the connection is maintained for a long period of time due to the cellular phone operating costs. Also, the person must navigate the Internet to find what they are looking for. This can be time consuming and inconvenient while in a vehicle.
As Internet commerce continues to grow, the demand for a convenient and cost effective means for accessing the Internet from a vehicle will escalate. Current technology and current cost restraints hinder most people from accessing the Internet while in the vehicle.
The present invention has the advantage of providing an easy to use and cost effective way of accessing the Internet from a vehicle.
In one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for sending and receiving information between a vehicle data processing system and a resource data system via a wireless communication system. The vehicle data processing system is comprised of a vehicle computer for generating an intelligent agent and operating a data engine for processing information and identifying needed information.
The method begins by identifying information needed by the data engine which is available from the resource data system. An intelligent software agent is generated within the vehicle computer based on the identified information wherein the intelligent software agent comprises software routines which collect an information packet when propagated to the resource data system. The intelligent software agent is transmitted to the resource data system via the wireless communication system. The software routines are then executed within the resource data system to produce the information packet. The information packet is transmitted from the resource data system to the vehicle computer via the wireless communication system, and the needed information is extracted from the information packet for use by the data engine.